Tito Vilanova, the new Barcelona manager

Worth having a seperate thread to discuss Tito with the other thread being left to discuss Pep, I think. So what do we know about this man then? Certainly a shock choice from the outside looking in, but the decision's been well received by the Barca newbies. A few words from the club:

Rosell (president): "The board of directors has approved the decision to name Tito Vilanova as new coach."

Guardiola: "You can expect the best from Tito. He's more than skilled, the players know him... I think the club made a great choice."

Guardiola: "I was just the voice of the ideas Tito and I developed together.

Sounds like a good appointment really. They have someone who knows the ins and outs of the club, which is someone a club like Barca need. They have their own system and philosophy. It wasn't so much Guardiola's, as Barca's, so it makes sense to 'keep it in the family' so to speak. I foresee success for him.

Not any riskier than appointing Pep in the first place. those players pretty much manage themselves at this point. Let's hope Tito is even more experimental with the tactics. I look forward to seeing Valdes in midfield next year.

Not any riskier than appointing Pep in the first place. those players pretty much manage themselves at this point. Let's hope Tito is even more experimental with the tactics. I look forward to seeing Valdes in midfield next year.

Excellent decision from Barcelona, they didn't need change, they needed continuity and they have ensures that by appointing a man who's already been there while Guardiola steered the club. Hiring someone like Bielsa might have gone either way but would certainly mean change of direction and they didn't need that at all.

Managing a club and being an assistant are two completely different roles. One is at the forefront of the club and the other is behind the scenes. Without a doubt Tito seems like the perfect candidate but can he survive the pressure as the boss? Will he be able to identify and incorporate big money players successfully? Can he handle the media? I think its a good decision in the sense that barcelona don't want to rock the boat. However we're talking about someone who has never had a manager role in his entire career.

It could turn out to be like another Quieroz situation. Without a doubt Carlos was a mastermind when he was at Manchester United. Almost the perfect Assistant Manager who helped to modernise the way we trained, played and identified continental talent. However, his Managerial track record has been iffy at best. Some are just born to lead whilst others are better as the no.2.

Tito could fall into this category because its a much different animal when you have to lead such a big club. The one thing he does have in his favor is that he knows the club inside out and has spent most of his coaching & youth career there. Oh yes and of course he still has messi! But If I was Mourinho I would be licking my lips at the prospect of facing off against a relatively inexperienced counterpart. It will be interesting to see how Tito performs when the pressure gets heaped upon him.

Some people are very keen to excuse Mourinho for acting in a typically classless manner.

Click to expand...

It was incredibly classless, but acting like it was some kind of assault that gets "worse every time you watch it" is silly exaggeration. I kind of hope he does come here just to see some posters explode in their indignation over a pantomime charicature.

I'm not sure what to make of this appointment. A lot of people doubted Guardiola when he stepped up to the job, however his inside out knowledge proved useful for him and we have seen how he proved everyone wrong. It is a good philosophy to have -appointing from within- if you manage to get it right. Vilanova, like Guardiola, will already know all of the players and will understand the philosophy of the club.

There are some differences though that would make me worry for him though. Guardiola came into the club on the back of a very poor season, and changes had to be made. Guardiola stamped his authority on the club, but that was because he had to. With Vilanova, it's very different. Despite their shortcomings this season, there aren't too many changes that need to be made for Barcelona to continue challenging and winning. I'm not saying that nothing has to be done, but compared to what Guardiola had to do, there's not a lot that needs to be changed. Vilanova may want to try and make his mark though, which could in turn do more harm than good for the club.

As well as that, he's got the pressure of succeeding a manager who's done so well for the club. Everything he does will be compared to Guardiola. I wonder how the senior players will react to the manager himself, and any of the changes that he makes.